Junior High Winter Dance
by Hikari Takaishi
Summary: This is sort of a Koukari... but guess what? ::squeaks:: It's based on a true story! #^-^# Koushiro is the mastermind of the dance and Hikari was invited to come. What's up with the stupid summary? Simple! You've gotta read it to find out what happens. R/


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Junior High Winter Dance

It was a normal day…. Nothing too fancy was going on, aside from the Christmas dance that Koushiro was sponsoring. All of his friends were invited; thus Taichi brought Hikari to come. Normally students of her grade weren't allowed to come into the dances, but being the big brother he is, Taichi pulled a few strings, tweaked a few bolts, and taped a few promises together to get her in. She was forever grateful. Sure, Takeru, Daisuke, or Ken wasn't going to be there. Nor any of her other classmates. But Miyako was going to be there and help her through the dance.

"Taichi!" Hikari practically screamed. No answer. "TAICHI!"

Taichi ran into the room and looked around as if there was a fire. When his eyes fell onto Hikari who was sitting on his bed, he sighed in relief. "What's up, Kiddo?"

"I don't know what to wear." She looked down.

Taichi nearly fell to the floor. "Kari, it's just a school dance. What's wrong with your normal wear?"

Hikari looked up at him with pleading confused brown eyes. Her brother dropped his shoulders and sat down next to the bed. Leaning against Taichi, Hikari sighed.

"I wonder if I'll fit in okay."

"You'll be just fine with me 'round. Besides, you could always leave when you want to. I'll walk you home."

"But then I'll be backing out from something that doesn't happen to everyone. And then Miyako will know and you will know and Yamato will know and Sora will know and Koushiro will know and Takeru won't be there!" exclaimed Hikari. 

Taichi started to laugh. "You're worried about the simple things. Trust me, everything's going to be just fine."

Hikari waited for more reassurance than that, but Taichi left. She glanced at the clock, then at what she was wearing. Without another moment's pass, she jumped up and went through her closet clothes in a rampage. Usually she wouldn't have to worry about dances because she always had Takeru or Daisuke to ask her on the slow dances. And during the quick beats, she'd dance right along with her friends. But this dance was different. Not just because of the age difference, but because the person running the dance fiesta was her all-time, number one, at the top crush. A sigh passed her lips when she thought about him.

Koushiro wasn't the handsomest or the most muscular. And he never seemed to be rude like other guys can be. Every time he would get upset, it seemed more like a pout than a yell to Hikari. Such a thing like this made her giggle. One thing was clear to Hikari; this "thing" on Koushiro was _not_ infatuation. It was love… or so she thought.

After minutes of clothes tossing, Hikari settled on a pair of flare jeans and a pink T-shirt with three flowers on the stomach made out of pink velvet. Her eyes fell upon her thin reflection in the mirror. Thoughts ran through her mind… The girls older than her looked older than her too. She would never fit in as far as looks go. She was just a lousy kid whose brother got her into this dance. And Koushiro… he probably had girls just sign up to dance with him. No… Koushiro was the 'DJ' as far as Hikari knew. He made up the computer usage to add on to the dance. He was the one who decided to change the way the dances looked. He was the one who had to do everything. There probably wasn't even time to dance for him.

"C'mon, Hikari!" Taichi called out. "Five minutes. Chop, chop."

Taking one last glance at herself, the young girl applied a thin amount of lip gloss- she wasn't allowed to wear make-up yet- and grabbed a pink hair band. She dropped the lip-gloss into her pocket and left the room, her clothes still tossed on the floor. The brother and sister left their apartment building with coats over their shoulders. 

Hikari's mind started to race with thoughts when she first saw the school on this Saturday night. It wasn't as dark and gloomy as it was many days before. But instead, it was bright with the cafeteria lights on. Many students were inside with cups in their hands and happy looks on their faces. This place was warm and welcoming. Hikari admired the fact that it was Koushiro's mind that put this all together. The music climbed its way up the volume level as Taichi led his sister into the school. Once inside, they hung their coats and were greeted by their friends.

"Come on, Hikari!" Miyako squealed and took her hand. "I've got a cute friend I'd like you to meet!"

Hikari blinked in confusion as she was dragged away from her brother. The last thing she saw before she was pulled through any amount of dancing people, was Taichi giving her a wink and a thumbs-up. Miyako settled herself in front of a young brunette. They chatted for a little while before Miyako pushed Hikari up to him. 

"Hikari," she said excitedly, "this is Rikou. Rikou, this is Hikari. She's here with her older brother Taichi. You know, the funny one."

He extended his right hand and grabbed a hold of Hikari's in a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you."

Hikari nodded. "Nice to meet you too." His voice sounded like Koushiro's only louder and seemingly unkind.

A fast tempo song, or a swing song, started to play. Miyako grinned, "Do you know how to swing dance, Kari?"

Her cheeks turned a bright red. She forgot about worrying how to dance! The look she gave Miyako told her and the boy everything.

"Well then," Rikou smiled and held both of Hikari's hands; "I'll teach you."

Hikari started to wonder, but before she can get too far, Miyako added, "He's our school dancer. Quote-unquote. He teaches in his spare time." That little comment reassured her only a bit.

"The first thing you have to do," Rikou directed as he positioned her in front of him, "is to remember not to step on your partner's foot. It hurts."

Hikari giggled a little bit. As Rikou started to teach her how to keep the beat, she soon learned the first couple steps. They pulled on each other's arms to bring themselves closer and kicked out their right legs, and then they pulled apart only to do it on the opposite side, this time kicking their left legs out. It was delightful when Hikari finally caught on with the overhead arm gig. Their fingers grabbed onto each other before they broke apart and Hikari spun into Rikou's strong hold. She then spun out just so they could repeat the steps. Within a minute into the song, Hikari and Rikou were in the middle of the circle of students, making up swing moves as they went. And during this whole time, she wondered if Koushiro even glanced at her.

The song died out and Rikou ended the dance with a dip. Hikari couldn't help but laugh. Within a four-minute's time, she had learned a new friend, a new dance, and gained new admirers. When she walked into the cafeteria to grab a drink, she felt hands jump onto her shoulders. Startled, she turned around to see her big brother.

"And you were worried that you wouldn't fit in!"

Hikari smiled brightly, "Yeah. Who knew I could learn how to swing dance in a couple of minutes?"

Taichi returned the smile. "You're all right, Kiddo…"

"Since when was I not all right?" she teased. 

When she walked back in, another fast song was dying away. It faded into a slow song and her heart jumped into her throat. Hikari waited for Koushiro to come down from the stage and away from the computer. But he didn't, he was directing others what to do, something very unlike him. Wondering if Koushiro ever came down from the stage, Hikari started to panic because she didn't want to slow dance with a stranger. Rikou was dancing with Miyako and Yamato was with a girl of his own… She didn't know what to do. Instincts rushed by her mind and she hurried into the bathroom. Nobody else was in there; she noticed when she went to check all the stalls. 

Leaning herself against the wall, she prayed that another swing song would play and she would go out there to be the center of attention again. She kept on praying so she wouldn't have to hide away in the bathroom. The song ended and she heard girls start to approach the door. Hikari rushed into a stall and lifted herself onto the toilet seat so no one would know she was in there.

"…So I guess she thinks she's all that." One girl was saying.

"And a bag of chips." Another piped in.

"Ugh, she _thinks_ she's all that and a bag of chips. She's not even a chip, let alone a bag!" the girls giggled and Hikari automatically thought they were talking about her.

"Nah, Rikou won't teach the girl lessons unless she paid 'im."

Hikari's heart dropped and she swallowed tears. They _were_ talking about her.

"Still, after seven lessons, she can't even compare to Taichi's little sister."

Hikari's jaw dropped. Everything reversed on her.

"Yeah. She's so adorable! And great fashion sense too." A girl said and flushed the toilet.

"No wonder why Rikou wanted to give her a free lesson." One teased.

"Funny, real funny. Say, I didn't see that girl when we were slow dancing."

"Maybe she was on the other side."

"Yeah, that may be it. Come on… They're going to be giving the contest dances in a half-hour. We've gotta get ourselves warmed up."

Hikari waited until silence fell into the bathroom. Opening the door, she then walked out into the cafeteria to look for Miyako. Sure enough, there she was, flirting with two boys.

"Figures," Hikari mumbled and walked over to her friend.

"Oh! Hi, Kari! These are my new friends." Miyako beamed proudly. Hikari just smiled. She made an excuse to leave so she wouldn't have to stay for the introductions. She hated being introduced to older people… It made her feel so young when in fact she was just as mature and just as wise.

Minutes flew by and Hikari learned more dance steps from Rikou. Soon after, another slow song played and Hikari was about to make her escape to the bathroom. She saw Koushiro stand up from the computer, but he walked over to a set of wires and plugged some in. Automatically the music was ten times better than before. Hikari sighed and started to make her way to the bathroom. She was stopped by Rikou.

"Care to dance?" he asked with a smile.

She started to hesitate, but she finally answered with an easy-going "Sure."

He took her hands and led her into the crowd. Taichi grabbed a hold of Rikou and whispered something in his ear before he let go and returned his arm back to around Sora's waist.

"What'd he tell you?" Hikari whispered as she put her arms around his neck.

Rikou put his hands onto her waist. He was sure not to "wrap" his arms around her. "Just the usual big brother thing."

"Oh," she giggled and set her chin on his shoulder. For one thing, she was glad that Rikou wasn't as tall as some other boys of his age, and for another, she could easily imagine that she was dancing with Koushiro. Her head tilted against his and the song kept on playing smoothly.

_This isn't so bad._ Hikari thought to herself._ I fit in well enough… And I got to learn a thing or two from a new friend. But I'm still not happy… Is Koushiro happy? I mean, he's been up there the whole dance… Wouldn't he want to dance in the dance he was giving? Come on, Izzy; just jump down from the stage for one second. Just one…_

The song ended with her thoughts and Rikou thanked her kindly. She said her own thank you and stumbled her way to Miyako. They talked for countless minutes. Their chatter wasn't more than mere says of how the dance was going. But it was the question of "What's wrong, Kari?" that startled the younger girl.

"Nothing." She said quickly.

"Lie!" Miyako found her bluff. "Tell me, come on."

Hikari sighed. "I just can't dance with the guy I want to dance with."

"Takeru?"

"No."

"Daisuke?"

"No."

"Um… Ken?"

"Er, no."

"Well then… who? WHO!"

Hikari blushed a little bit, but said nothing.

"Oh please, Kari?" Miyako sighed. "I'm not going to tell anyone. Is it someone at the dance?"

"Yes…"

The girl glanced around, peering through her glasses. "It couldn't be Yamato could it?"

"Well what's wrong with Yamato?"

"So it is?"

"…No."

"Kariiii!" Miyako hung her head. "Don't fool me like that. Is it Rikou?"

"I danced with him already."

"Is it the cute guy you pointed out to me earlier?"

"Nope."

"Is it…" Miyako paused. "Koushiro?"

Hikari smiled unknowingly at the sound of his name. A firm nod came from her and Miyako squealed.

"How cute!"

Hikari blushed deeply at Miyako's exclamation. She felt bad about how both Daisuke and Takeru feel about her. But she found herself that it just wasn't love. (Boy, that's hard to say considering I'm a Takari fan…)

Miyako then realized why her friend was so upset. "I'm sure he'll come and dance."

"I hope so…"

After the song that was playing ended, one of Koushiro's older friends came over the microphone.

"We're going to play another slow song." Said he, "That all right?"

Negative cheers filled the gymnasium and Hikari glanced around nervously. She was the only one who wasn't cheering for a yes or a no. Finally eyeing Koushiro, her heart jumped as it did a million times before. He was whispering something in his friend's ear and then he waited.

"What the heck. We're playing a slow song anyway." The boy shrugged and the sweet sound of [Enter any band here, but for now, I'll use the one that played at my school dance…] Savage Garden's [enter favorite song] 'I Knew I Loved You' filled the gym. Hikari prepared to find someone to dance with, but she watched as Koushiro jumped down from the stage. Her mind was in full panic mode by the time Koushiro tapped her shoulder. She spun around casually and gazed up into his eyes. 

"May I have this dance, Hikari?" Koushiro asked politely. All the girl could do was nod. Before she knew it, Koushiro's arms were resting around her waist and her arms were rested on his shoulders. He was a fair three-ish inches taller than she and Hikari imagined her head resting on his shoulder.

"So how's the dance so far?" he asked her in a whisper. 

"It's great." Hikari whispered back, secretly hiding all nervous actions.

"Really? I thought it was going so bad… You can't even read the play list off the TV screen." He sighed. "It could've been better."

"It's just fine." Hikari attempted to convince him. 

"You're just saying that."

"I am not. It really is great. Far better than I would imagine." She kept looking up into his eyes and he kept staring down at hers. "A lot of people like it, I bet."

Koushiro smirked, "Thanks, Kari."

_You are way beyond welcome, Koushiro._ She thought with a smile. More whispers were exchanged between them and soon enough, Koushiro held her left hand in his right and Hikari's head was nestled onto his shoulder. They both had their eyes closed and swaying oh so gently to the music. Never once did Taichi come and whisper warnings to Koushiro. Hikari opened her eyes when she felt his head tilt against hers.

"Koushiro?" she asked gently.

"Hm?" 

"Why did you ask me to dance?"

"Why not?"

Hikari felt a blush appear on her cheeks. "Well, I just… I just wondered because you were on the stage all night."

Koushiro tightened his grip around her hand. "I just wanted to dance."

She could tell he was smiling, it was in his voice. For the rest of the song, few words were spoken but a lot of things were said in Hikari's mind. The song ended and they broke apart reluctantly. Nothing else was said after a simple "Thanks" from Koushiro. And he returned quickly to the stage. Hikari stood on the gym floor with a smile on her face. The night had only gotten better.

Koushiro never left the stage after that one slow dance; he was busy keeping things working. But after the dance, as Hikari and Taichi were leaving, the girl turned to look at the boy putting away the computer. He looked up for a brief moment and smiled faintly at her before going back to work. Hikari was pushed out the door with a memory left in her mind that would never leave.

The End

::squeaks:: I always want to remember that moment. (Yes, yes, it really WAS based on a true story!) Not everything was true though… 'Cause for one thing, I was allowed to go to danced without my big brother 'tying a few strings' together, I knew how to swing dance, and my brother wasn't even there… o.O But the whole Koushiro using computer technology thing happened. And the dance between Hikari and Koushiro happened. (Ahem, might I tell you that Koushiro was my crush and I, Hikari.) ::squeaks again:: See? SEE! There ARE guys who are so sweet and caring… ::sweatdrops and blushes:: I'm a spazzy. No need to rub it in. Anyway, please, please, PLEASE review. Mmkay? Dun' worry, I'll be coming out with the Spas stuff. (cough*HumorforDigi-BloopThat!stuf*cough) Thanks for reading. Tata! ~HT


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